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Teachers’ views on implementing intercultural education in Greece: the case of 13 primary schools

Evanthia Tsaliki (International Center for Intercultural Studies, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK)

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development

ISSN: 2396-7404

Article publication date: 8 May 2017

446

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers’ and head teachers’ perceptions of the implementation of intercultural education within the 13 intercultural primary schools (IPSs) in Greece.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology adopted is a mixed-method approach. It has been employed to add breadth and depth to the analysis and to achieve a better understanding of the issue examined. The research methods used include questionnaires administered and interviews conducted with teachers and head teachers.

Findings

The results indicate that great importance is attributed to the use of cooperative learning, group work and the interdisciplinary approach to implementing intercultural education. The findings provide suggestions for the creation of a school environment in which the intercultural dimension will be promoted, so as to meet the educational needs of native, foreign and, repatriate pupils attending both intercultural and mainstream primary schools.

Research limitations/implications

The research study focusses on primary education. Nonetheless, some of the findings may be applicable to secondary education.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study to the topic examined is significant since this is a country-scale research conducted among the 13 IPSs – and there has been no previous research conducted in all 13 IPSs in Greece – and different pupil populations. Therefore, teachers’ views and practices allow international readership to be informed of the Greek intercultural context as well as to reflect a variety of teaching approaches and methods that can be well adopted by intercultural practitioners and which in turn can contribute to the improvement of the entire spectrum of pedagogy and pursue further research.

Keywords

Citation

Tsaliki, E. (2017), "Teachers’ views on implementing intercultural education in Greece: the case of 13 primary schools", International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, Vol. 19 No. 2/3, pp. 50-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCED-07-2017-0013

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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